If you’re looking for something easy and interesting to grow in the garden next year, consider broom corn - the distant sweet corn relative once widely grown as a housekeeper's helper.
Native to Central Africa, broom corn, Sorghum vulgare, a variety of sorghum in the plant family Poaceae, is a plant with a variety of uses, both functional and ornamental. This hardy annual, also known as broom straw, is a tall grass that forms broad, tasseled, fan-shaped heads, ranging from 16 to 20 inches long. This year, we grew some broom in one corner of my vegetable garden. And last month, it was harvested, hung to dry, and then brought indoors as a pretty fall arrangement.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Broom corn is easy to grow and only requires a bright and sunny open location with lots of nutrient-rich, well-drained soil. Broom corn reaches 10 to 18 feet at maturity, depending on the variety.
The tops grow in fan-shaped blooms. This corn does not have ears filled with kernels. Instead it grows tassels at the very top. These long tassels are what broom makers use to make brooms.
The leaves are also long and papery just like a cornstalk.
Ryan begins to cut off some of the long stalks. Broom corn is typically ready for harvesting when the plant has developed the ideal tassel or “brush”.
Look at all these pretty autumn colored tassels. Demand for these brooms has decreased over the years because the broom making process is so tedious – it takes one ton of broom corn to produce about 80 to 100 brooms.
Here, one can see how long the broom corn has grown. Ryan takes the stalks to the greenhouse where they will be prepared for curing.
Ryan begins to clean and shorten the stalks at the first leaf.
And peels all the lower outer leaves off the stalks. There are about eight to 15 nodes and leaves on each one.
Now these stalks are smooth and clear of all the lower leaves – these stalks look similar to bamboo.
Ryan trims all the stalks to the same length.
Here is a closer look at the broom corn stalks – they are very woody with dry piths inside.
Next, Ryan and Gavin bring the bundles of broom corn to the corn crib where they could dry undisturbed for the next two to three weeks.
Ryan and Gavin hang the broom corn in smaller bundles, so it could dry vertically and straight.
My corn crib is original to the farm, and is one of the most photographed outbuildings on the property. It is located at one end of my party lawn next to one of my horse paddocks and this long allee of lindens.
A few weeks later, Ryan returns to the corn crib – the broom corn is now dry.
When making brooms, these sprays are brushed with a curry comb to remove all the seeds. If left unharvested, the seeds can be used as a winter food source for wildlife – birds love them.
Benjamin Franklin is credited with introducing broom corn to the United States in the early 1700s. Initially, broom corn was grown only as a garden crop for use in the home. By 1834 commercial broom corn production had spread to several states in the Northeast and started moving west. Now, broom corn is grown for more ornamental uses and as feed.
Any discarded stalks are brought to the compost pile using my sturdy extra-large Multipurpose Garden Totes from QVC. We use these bags everywhere around the farm – they are so useful for so many tasks.
All the broom corn is gathered together and brought to my Winter House for decoration.
It makes a very pretty autumn bouquet for my servery – and all of it grown right here at the farm. Have you ever grown broom corn? Let me know what you think about this interesting crop in the comments section below.
Our dahlia digging and storing project continues at the farm.
Dahlias are frost-tender tuberous plants that can overwinter outdoors where the weather is mild. However, here in the Northeast, severe winter conditions will cause them to split and rot, so they must be pulled from the ground and stored away every fall. Several days ago, my gardeners uprooted all the dahlia tubers, rinsed them and set them inside the temperature and humidity-controlled greenhouse where they could cure. Now, they are ready for storing.
Enjoy these photos and tips.
Since dahlia plants only thrive as far north as USDA plant hardiness Zone 9, cold-climate gardeners must dig up and store the tubers each year.
Dahlia tubers – sometimes referred to as “bulbs” – are not true bulbs at all, as they differ in both appearance and growth function. Bulbs are round and consist of one swollen root. Tubers, come in a variety of shapes and form in a cluster. They also grow out of the “eyes.”
Here is a closer look at the hollow stem. It is completely dried through. If you don’t have a temperature and humidity-controlled greenhouse, these tubers can dry outside if there is no rain forecasted or in any room that does not get any direct sunlight. The drying process could take up to a couple of weeks.
Ryan inspects each dahlia tuber and trims away any parts that are rotten. He also checks the “mother” tuber or the original tuber that was planted, which is more likely to rot than the new ones.
Just to be sure, Ryan also writes the variety of the dahlia on one of the tubers, so there is absolutely no confusion later.
Next, Ryan trims the stem slightly, so it is just about two to three inches long.
Ryan coats any cut side with Douglas fir bark dust. This dust helps to heal the sliced area, so it doesn’t shrink or curl. The slightly acidic bark is also a natural fungicide and moisture buildup barrier that will help deter rot. Come spring, the dust can be left on it when planted to thwart decay before they sprout.
You can find fir bark dust in some specialty garden shops or online. You can also use sulfur dust in the same way.
Ryan also generously coats the freshly cut stem.
All those mesh bags saved from our bulb orders come in handy for storing tubers. These bags come in a variety of sizes and provide lots of air circulation. If you don’t have any mesh bags, any well-ventilated bags or boxes will do.
Ryan places each tuber clump in a bag and surrounds it with wood shavings. Some gardeners prefer storage mediums such as vermiculite, coarse sand, sawdust or sphagnum peat moss.
Because we also use wood shavings down in my stable, we have a good supply here at the farm.
Ryan adds enough shavings to keep the tuber dry. This is important as any moisture that causes rot could spread to other tubers.
We also save all the plastic crates that come whenever we order large collections of bulbs. I always try to reuse, repurpose or recycle everything at the farm.
The bags of tubers are then placed into a crate.
Ryan places the marker in the bag, so it is ready when spring arrives and time to re-plant the tubers.
It is important to ensure each bag gets ample air circulation – in the bags and in the crates. Overcrowding may promote rot.
Ryan does this process for each and every clump of tubers. He checks and trims any rotten pieces and feels each tuber. They should all feel firm to the touch.
Here’s Gavin carrying each crate down to the basement greenhouse. The ideal storage temperature is above freezing but below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Be sure to check the tubers a couple times over the winter, and discard any that have rotted. Environmental changes in the storage location, such as increased humidity or fluctuating temperatures, can still damage overwintering dahlia tubers. And then next spring, they’ll all be taken out again for planting – I can’t wait.
If you live anywhere but the warmest regions of the United States, it’s time to dig up and store those precious dahlia tubers.
When in bloom, dahlias provide some of the garden's biggest and most spectacular flowers in many different sizes, forms, and colors. This year, my dahlias were especially productive - I made dozens of arrangements for my home. However, native to Mexico, dahlias are not winter-hardy and tend to split in freezing temperatures or mold in soggy, wet soil. This week at my Bedford, New York farm, my gardeners dug up all the dahlia tubers, so they could be stored indoors for the cold season.
Here is our step-by-step process. Enjoy these photos.
Wait until the foliage has turned yellow and brown before digging up the tubers. This is important so that the plant can gather energy for the following year. It will store starches in the tuber which will fuel initial sprouting in summer. The best time is a couple weeks after the first frost when they’re well into dormancy yet haven’t been harmed by the cold.
First, Ryan cuts all the stems down leaving about five to six inches of the main stem. These stems will be used to hold the tubers as they are lifted from the soil.
Dahlia stems are hollow making them quickly susceptible to rot. This is also why dahlias often have to be staked to help support their very large flowers.
Phurba digs up the dahlia tubers with a garden fork starting about a foot away from the center stem. He is very careful not to let the tool come into contact with any of the tuberous roots, which can be easily damaged.
I always say to “use the right tool for the right job.” My Martha Stewart garden forks from QVC are perfect for digging up our dahlia tubers. They come in sets of three, each with a fork, a shovel, and a spade for tilling, turning, and transplanting anything in the garden. https://qvc.co/377bklz
Phurba loosens the soil around the dahlia tubers by thrusting the fork into the ground and then slowly prying up the soil freeing the tubers.
With one hand on the stem, Phurba gently removes the entire mound from the ground.
Dahlia tubers consist of a stumpy stem with several swollen sections attached to it. Phurba pokes the clump gently to knock off most of the dirt.
Phurba and the others work in an assembly line fashion, so the task is done quickly and efficiently. While Phurba digs up the tubers, Gavin removes the cut plants from the area.
All of these dahlia tubers have been safely pulled and are ready to be rinsed.
Next, Phurba washes the dirt off the dahlia tubers by hosing them down. If you’ve already put the hoses away for the season, you can also swish the tuber around in a bucket of water. Be very gentle—even the slightest puncture can introduce pathogens, causing the dahlia bulbs to rot in storage.
Tuber productivity varies between varieties. Here, Ryan shows how small the tuber was when planted, and on the right, how much it has grown. Each clump pulled had anywhere from five to 20 tubers. Not all will have full eyes allowing them to grow a stem next spring, but we definitely harvested more than we planted.
Here is a clean clump of dahlia tubers with their roots intact.
To dry the dahlias, we use shallow plastic mesh trays like these that provide good air circulation. They’re available at Johnny’s Selected Seeds and can be ordered in multiples of five. https://bit.ly/355EPCu
Phurba carefully rinses all the dahlia tubers and leaves them in place until they are collected by the variety and put into trays with appropriate labels.
All the tubers will look similar, so it is crucial to keep them with their individual markers. These tubers are ‘Penhill Watermelon’ dahlias – a dinner plate variety with a giant fluffy mix of peach, lavender and the tiniest hint of yellow flowers.
Dahlia ‘Kelvin Floodlight’ is also a dinner plate variety – a butter-colored flower that grows up to 10-inches across.
This day was very rainy and wet, but these tubers are rinsed and waiting to be placed into trays.
Here are all the cut dahlias ready to be carted to the compost pile. Here it is easy to see what they look like after the first frost – all the foliage has darkened and died.
Before they are bagged and stored, the dahlia tubers must dry completely. Ryan places all the trays of dahlia tubers into our small hoop house where they can cure properly. The curing process involves high temperatures and high relative humidity to prepare the roots and tubers for long periods of storage and to heal the skins wounded during harvesting.
Now this garden bed is empty and ready for planting the next crop. I wonder what it will be. How did you prepare your dahlias for storage? Share your gardening comments with me in the section below.
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